Disposable absorbent products for absorption of bodily fluids are available in different types, designs, and dimensions. For example, training pants, baby diapers, adult diapers, and incontinence guards are products designed for the containment of urine and excrement. There are other types of disposable absorbent articles, such as feminine hygiene products (e.g., heavy and light incontinence pads, pantiliners) that are designed to contain and absorb urine and/or menses secreted by female wearers. Known products of this type typically include a topsheet facing the body of the wearer, a backsheet facing the garment worn by the wearer, and an absorbent core sandwiched between the topsheet and backsheet.
The absorbent core in products of the type described above include a main absorbent structure that is configured to distribute and store fluids secreted by the wearer, as well as other components such as acquisition components and the like. The main absorbent structure in conventional products has granular storage components, such as Super Absorbent Particles (“SAP”), that gel-up when placed in contact with urine or other fluids secreted by the wearer. Prior to gelling-up, however, these granular components may be hard, which may cause discomfort to the wearer, or even poke through the surrounding layers of material.
In order to minimize the problems associated with the hard granular components, manufacturers of disposable absorbent products of this type often wrap the main absorbent structure of the absorbent core with a thin layer of paper, which allows passage of fluid therethrough while preventing exposure of the granular components through the topsheet. Wrapping with a thin layer of paper also maintains the granular components in the intended target area within the disposable absorbent product, which enhances containment of the secreted fluids.
But wrapped-core designs of the type described above often require an additional barrier layer of material, such as an impermeable polyethylene-based layer, located between the wrapped core and the backsheet of the product. This is to prevent fluid stored in the core from reaching the backsheet, which may be undesirable. The presence of the additional barrier layer increases the cost and complexity in the manufacturing of the disposable absorbent product.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide disposable absorbent products that address these and other shortcomings of conventional disposable absorbent products.